


A Critical College Experience

by lavenderlove



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Multi, They're all buffoons!!, Updating tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-17 05:12:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17554013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlove/pseuds/lavenderlove
Summary: A new adventure for some, while others are returning for another year at college.(Also known as me being self-indulgent and writing a college au)





	1. A Curious Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my good buddy, Desmond, for doing the Lord's work by betaing this for me (and for giving me even more evidence that I really shouldn't write when I'm sleep deprived)

There was one week until school started, which meant the chaos of moving in, finding classes, and finalizing student account stuff was fresh in the air, and that was apparent by the busy, cart filled halls of the dormitories. Chatter filled the halls, whether it be by friends, new and old, or by parents doing their best to hold their anxious students’ hands just a little bit longer.

Fjord could easily say that this was one of the worst experiences of his life.

He was trying to push his cart through the hall, trying being the keyword, and he wasn’t making fast progress. At least he had managed to grab an elevator to the second floor before another cart got it, but that didn’t stop the small box from becoming crammed with people heading up. Needless to say, the ride was hot and stuffy and Fjord could’ve sworn that the elevator cart might give at any given moment.

When he finally reached his room, room 212 (there was no mistaking that it wasn’t his room, the little fish with his name and the star with his roommate’s made sure of that), he could already hear two voices inside. One of them was masculine, an Irish lilt to his words, and the other some accent that he couldn’t identify, likely due to the fact that the voice was significantly softer.

After a moment, Fjord took his key from his pocket and unlocked the door, immediately being met with stares. One being his roommate, presumably, and the other from the quiet woman. He immediately took note of his roommate’s lavender hair and the mischievous grin on his face that he wore a little too proudly, not to mention the tattoos Fjord could see crawling up the person’s neck and onto his cheek. He didn’t have anything against tattoos, but this guy just wreaked of trouble. So, this was Mollymauk.

“Ah! Fjord, I presume?” Mollymauk rushed up to Fjord, a hand stuck out for a handshake that was quickly accepted by the freshman.

“Uh- yeah. That’s me. And you’re-”

“Mollymauk, Molly to my friends. We’re friends, now, aren’t we?” His grin broadened, and he nodded back towards the woman, whose arms were now crossed as she watched the two talk. She had heterochromia, and her black hair was bleached white at the ends. Cool.

“This is Yasha. She’s a charm. Right, Yasha?” Both boys glanced back at the girl, and she shifted slightly, arms crossing just a little bit tighter. A weak glare was shot in Molly’s direction, but a subtle smugness, almost like that of a cat’s, remained on his face. There wasn’t any escaping this, but Yasha did suppose she could use a few more friends. This would probably have been better if she was the one forcing herself to talk. Probably.

“Uh- yes. I’ve been told so… by Molly. I was just… helping him unpack, but I think he has everything major done. I’ll speak with you two later,” Yasha managed to say, already halfway to the door now. She glanced at Fjord as she passed him, biting her lip before mumbling, “It was a… pleasure to meet you.” And with that, Yasha was out of the room, leaving Molly leaning against the wall with arms crossed and Fjord with his half-empty cart of dorm necessities.

“She certainly seemed charming,” commented Fjord, pushing the cart in a little farther and assessing their living situation. Dorms were bigger than he had imagined. Small, no doubt, but bigger than the box he envisioned. On one wall, Molly’s side, there hung a silver dragon tapestry, gaudy and bright, and above that, on the ceiling, there was yet another tapestry, this one black and displaying the eight different phases of the moon. In the cart, Fjord only had the bare necessities.

He could already tell that this was shaping up to be quite an interesting year.


	2. New Faces

By now, clouds had covered the slowly lowering sun, which gave the early evening hours an even quieter feel. The parental orientation had been let out a few hours early so that the adults could do whatever they needed to, or tour around the campus with the poor students who were stuck with that job.

When the freshmen were released, it wasn’t a shock that nearly all of them silently agreed to swarm the cafeteria. There had been snacks and the cafeteria hadn’t closed down, but teenagers were teenagers, and teenagers were hungry.

Fjord, Beau, and Jester had been arm in arm since they had met up with each other, or rather since Jester had nearly dislocated Beau’s wrist dragging her to Fjord when they spotted each other after moving in. Beau and Fjord had talked briefly before- Jester had given them each other’s social media- so it was nice to really get to talk. It was an especially good time for Jester, whose crush and best friend were in the same conversation together.

When the three walked into the now crowded dining hall, Jester’s eyes scanned the large room to find a few signs advertising different styles of cuisine, but none of them quite caught her attention. None of them smelled that great either. What did grab her attention, however, was a small area that had different desserts and pastries.

 

“Oh! Look, you guys! Pastries!” Jester gushed, quickly heading off to the table. Beau and Fjord exchanged glances before trailing behind the excited eighteen year old. By the time they were caught up, she had already managed to fill half her plate up with various kinds of pastries.

“Woah there, Jester, maybe you should get some real food to accompany all that sugar,” Fjord commented, just to get a disgusted look by her.

“Well, Fjord, Mama isn’t here to stop me, plus I’m an adult, so I can eat anything I please!”

“You know, maybe Fjord has a point,” Beau said with a shake of her head. “Ever since I met you and you’ve sent me pictures of your meals, it’s only ever been pastries.”

That managed to get a small sigh out of Jester, who was now staring down at her plate. “Fine. I guess you’re right. Real food… wouldn’t hurt,” she mumbled, but looked like a kicked puppy as she went to to the area serving Chinese food and filled a second plate. She followed Fjord and Beau as they chose their meals, rambling about how her mama would make the best pastries in the world and how she already missed her mom.

When they finally finished getting their plates, they had to find a spot to eat. That was one of the hardest parts, but Jester had no problem with walking up to an emptier corner table and putting her plates down. The only two people there were a black haired, obviously short girl and a boy with reddish-brown hair. The man’s eyes had been fixed on a book in front of him, next to it, a half-eaten meal entirely forgotten. His attention shifted from his book to the now “intruding” strangers.

“Yes? May I help you?” He asked, a light German accent apparent his words. He watched the blue-haired pastry fanatic sit down in front of him, followed by her two other friends who looked bored compared to the cheerfulness of Jester.

“Not really!” Jester was beaming, elbows on the table and chin in her hands. She thrived in social situations and was easily the most extroverted member of any of her groups. “I’m Jester, and these are Beau and Fjord!” She pointed at each as she introduced them.

“Howdy,” Fjord greeted with a nod of his head, Beau making a saluting motion with her fingers as she said a simple, “‘Sup.” 

“I am Caleb Widogast,” he hesitantly said, glancing between the three of them before looking at the woman taking residency in the seat next to his. “This is Nott.”

“Hello!” The girl spoke, and Jeter couldn’t tell if her voice had cracked or if it was just like that. Jester noted that Nott had slunk back slightly when Caleb had introduced her, but she tried not to think much of Caleb. That prompted curiosity, and from curiosity sprung questions.

“So, what year are you two in?” Jester asked, taking a bite of her eclair as she awaited an answer from the two.

“I’m a junior; I major in English,” Caleb answered, figuring to add his major so that Jester wouldn’t ask about it and drag on the conversation for longer than it needed to be. He would’ve killed to get back to his book, but the lessons in manners Caleb had been given as a child still stuck to him.

“I’m a senior!” Nott said, holding an awkward thumbs up. Then she did what was probably the most unexpected thing Jester could think of by grabbing a flask from the inside of her coat and taking a swig of it.

“Is that booze?” Beau blurted, leaning forward with a sudden grin on her face. The grin only seemed to get bigger when Nott nodded.

“Well- well, yes. But it’s just a little bit! And- and I don’t go around campus wasted! Besides, the law allows me to have it!” She defended, hands fidgeting under the table. Yes, Jester decided, definitely a very anxious person.

Jester could feel an awkward silence settle over the table and that feeling was enough to make her quickly eat. She wasn’t quite sure what to say to the two. She doubted that they would be interested in their freshmen endeavors, but she could still…

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite roommate and my favorite bookworm all in one place!” Her thoughts were cut short by a purring voice, the face attached to the voice sitting down next to Caleb, who grumbled a quiet complaint but slid over nonetheless. It was now Mollymauk who was disturbing his peace and novel.

“Well, I don’t think I’ve met you two before.” He pointed two painted fingers at Jester and Beau, Jester smiling and Beau having narrowed eyes.

“My name is Jester! I really love your hair! It’s so purple!”

“And yours so blue! I’m Mollymauk, Molly to my friends.” He held a hand out to accompany the smirk on his face. Jester shook it fast. The two looked as pleased as they did mischievous, and Fjord inwardly groaned. If something was gonna happen this year, it would most certainly be caused by these two.

“‘Sup. I’m Beau.” She didn’t bother to stick her hand out for a handshake, continuing to lean back and eye him. Molly didn’t seem bothered at all, but rather used to it, and pulled out a deck of cards from his gaudy coat and began to shuffle them around.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of people in such need of entertainment! Anyone down for a tarot reading?” In a fluid motion, Molly stopped shuffling the deck and put them face down on the table. Jester’s excitement grew.

“Me! I want one! I was just about to ask you if you read fortunes!”

“Well, isn’t that just great? Anyone else care for one?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise things will happen soon enough :)


	3. Cops and Robbers

The sun had officially set for the third day and final day of orientation, and parents had gone from an overwhelming amount to a scarce population. Some students seemed relieved to have their parents gone, while others looked nervous and already homesick. Tonight the school was hosting a big game of cops and robbers. It was all years pitted against each other in an attempt to form bonds with each other. Most were brimming with excitement, but there were a few who seemed more than annoyed to be there.

Caleb Widogast happened to fall in the latter category.

He wasn’t big on areas full of people, much less a fair majority of the school, but Nott had insisted that he come with her to the event to make more friends, and he owed her way too much to just say no, so, with very little hesitation, he agreed. Now he was stuck, leaning on the outside wall of a building and keeping watch in case any of the “cops” decided to appear out of nowhere. Nott was inside, doing her best to stealth her way to the object, which was a cheap plastic trophy. 

He was only vaguely keeping watch, more focused on reading a book he had downloaded to his phone- it wasn’t his first option, but it worked well enough. He barely even noticed when a familiar face stood next to him.

“Hey there, Mr. Caleb,” the Irish accent drawled, causing Caleb to briefly glance at Mollymauk. He didn’t have the patience for the loud person, so he turned his back away from him and went back to his book. That managed to get a mock whine out of Molly, who moved so that he would be standing in front of Caleb.

“Too busy reading to pay attention to your best friend, are we?”

“We are not ‘best friends’,” Caleb sighed, looking up from his book to meet brown eyes. He kept the eye contact for barely half a second before looking to the ground. “I have barely even spoken to you, and you have barely spoken to me.”

Mollymauk dramatically sighed and put one hand to his chest and the other to his forehead. “Oh, how you wound me! You barely know Nott, and you regard her as a best friend? How unfair!” He pouted, leaning slightly closer. This elicited the shorter man to roll his eyes, shake his head, and shift his gaze over to his phone.

“I do not understand all your grief, playful or not. Nott is my roommate and I know her a lot better than I know you. Now, can I please return to my book?”

“What are you even reading?” Molly grabbed the phone from his hands, taking one look at the page before handing it back with an amused look on his face. “I don’t know what any of those words mean, but I hope you’re enjoying it. Maybe you’d enjoy it more if you were inside and had a place to sit.”

Caleb’s brows furrowed, and before he had a chance to ask what he meant, he noticed the band on Mollymauk’s arm and how his hand was now on Caleb’s shoulder. “Prison time for you, Widogast. Why don’t I escort you?”

“I don’t think that was fair,” Caleb said, already heading for the designated dorm building that acted as the jail for the robbers. He completely ignored the last thing Molly had said, but that didn’t stop him from following Caleb.

“Oh, sure it was. It’s not my fault you fell for my conversation skills. Proof that I’m a cop is written plain and clear. You’re just not very perceptive!” Molly winked at him, but Caleb didn’t spare him a glance, opting to look back down at the book on his phone. Caleb didn’t notice how cold he was until he walked into the warm building and let out a sigh of relief.

Including him, there were eighteen people in the room. He knew this cause he had quietly counted each person aloud. Caleb recognized a few faces, one of them being a man with pink hair, but everyone else just seemed to be classmates he was barely aware existed in the first place. He wasn’t too sure on the identity of the pink haired person either.

“Well, I’ve got a job to do. I’ll make sure that Nott knows her best friend is in jail.” Mollymauk smirked and began to walk away, Caleb watching him go for a minute before settling down in a nice corner and beginning to read. If someone called jailbreak, he’d be able to hide and stay out of the game. Great for him, really.

His attention had shifted from his book to the door again as he heard the yells and protests of Beau, who was being carried into the room fireman style by Jester. It seemed that the best friends had been caught. Now, Jester was sulking and Beau was refusing to accept defeat.

The round carried on for another half hour, Nott successfully having stolen the trophy and gotten it back to the “base”, and it was around twelve in the morning by the time the entire game had finished. After Molly tagged Caleb in the first round, the two seemed to put targets on each other’s backs. Molly managed to escape half the time, which Caleb found unfair as he had been tagged both times, yet he wasn’t the one wearing thigh high boots.

At the end of the game, as students were heading off to their rooms, Mollymauk was quick to chase after Caleb and tap his shoulder, causing him to stop and face the sophomore.

“Is there something you want?”

“Hey! Calm down! I’m just as tired as you. I was just gonna say that this was really fun, and,” Molly digs into his pocket and pulls out a slip of paper, handing it to Caleb before continuing on, “talking to you more would be just as fun. Now, I head to bed. Goodnight, Mr. Caleb.”

With those final words, Mollymauk sauntered away, leaving Caleb to stare in his direction and wonder what just happened and if this was a normal occurrence for other people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta, we're illiterate like real men


End file.
